Only Skin Deep

When children are born, they are fragile. They are susceptible to the elements. When looking after a newborn or an infant’s health and well-being, there are a million factors to account for. That being said, parents should be aware of the common problems and diseases knocking on their kids’ doors. One disease that may slip under that radar is eczema. Actually, the word eczema refers to a general set of skin conditions that share symptoms like dryness, redness, swelling, itching, flaking, blistering and even bleeding.

The specific form of eczema that afflicts 10 to 20 percent of all infants is something called atopic dermatitis (AD), and it’s considered a form of allergy that targets you in your formative years due to slow development of the immune system. Although these temporarily ill-equipped children usually grow out of this inconvenience during the ages of 10 to 15, it is still an awkward, painful and socially scarring burden that should be avoided if possible. According to findings published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, atopic dermatitis is one step closer to being avoidable thanks to ordinary antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C.

According to Stephen Daniells’ article from www.nutraingredients.com, “Researchers from Kyung Hee University in Seoul used both data on intakes of vitamin and minerals, and corresponding biomarkers, in relation to atopic dermatitis, the first time such an approach had been used.”.

“The Seoul-based scientists recruited 180 five-year olds with AD, and 242 five-year olds without AD and assessed their diets using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Blood samples were also taken after a period of fasting to determine levels of fat-soluble vitamins, like retinol, alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E), and beta-carotene, and vitamin C.
Results showed that the risk of AD was 56 per cent lower in children with the highest average intakes of beta-carotene, compared to the lowest.